Raindrop Races
by rickymcchicken
Summary: It's raining, his brother has the flu, the bus driver he hates is working, and he just dropped a pound of ham salad on the floor. It can't get much worse, right? Yes. yes it can. But things fall apart so others can come together, don't they?


Raindrop Races and Happy Places

Chapter 1: Speed McGee

"Great." Lukas grumbled as he climbed into the bus. It was this driver again. This guy, somehow, always managed to start driving before Lukas could sit down fully, launching him into the seat. Today was no exception. He fell unceremoniously into the bus seat, dropping his phone. It skittered into the aisle, and he snatched it up quickly, checking it for scratches and praying there were none. He sighed with relief and put the phone back into the pocket of his jacket. He scooted over a seat and rested his head on the window.

It was 9:00 am, and already today was shaping up to be a shitty day. He spilled coffee on himself, broke a shoelace, and, to top it off like the proverbial icing on the cake, he stubbed his toe on the coffee table going to change shoes. He wasn't totally sure he didn't break it. Now, this driver had to be on duty. His phone began to ring.

"Hello?" He answered. A grating cough made him pull the phone back from his ear, startled.

"H-hey, Lukas. It's Emil." It was his brother.

"I know. I have caller ID. It's 2017. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, but I'm gonna have to cancel our lunch plans. I've got the flu, I think." He laughed sheepishly.

"Oh, sorry. That sucks!" Lukas had just gotten over a bout of it himself, and in fact, was probably the one who gave it to Emil.

"Yeah, I'll make it up to you when I'm feeling better, I promise."

"Don't worry about it. Do you need anything from the store? I can pick something up after work." Lukas offered.

"Would you mind picking up some NyQuil for me? We're out."

"Sure, no problem. I'll see you when I get home. Get some rest." Lukas gathered his things to get off. "I gotta go, I'm at my stop."

"Alright, see you then. Bye." He hung up.

And that was that. The one thing he had to look forward to today, thwarted by germs.

Lukas spent more time daydreaming than doing actual work. He worked at a deli, and Tuesday was their slow day, although it wasn't like there were busy days, per se. He cleaned the counters, the slicing blades, and the scale. He organized the containers, dropped some ham salad, mopped the ham salad, and wiped down the counters again. He started daydreaming again. He imagined that he and a mystery person were sitting next to each other by the lakeside. They looked at each other, and the other person laughed and nudged his shoulder. Lukas felt himself grinning. The person leaned closer and gently whispered in his ear…."BEEP BEEP BEEP".

Time for lunch.

He grabbed his bag and walked out of the store and across the street to the little café he liked. It always smelled like pastries and home. He ordered a blueberry scone and a black coffee. He looked up at the man behind the counter to thank him. He was tall. Like, six foot and change. It was a little intimidating for average-height Lukas, but it sure as hell wasn't bad. He had blond hair, strongly parted to one side, and eyes like stars. Blue stars. Could stars be blue? Lukas thought so. He realized he'd been staring a bit.

"Th-thank you." Lukas sputtered.

"No problem, have a lovely day!" He smiled, and the corners of his eyes crinkled. Lukas thought to himself that he should have ordered water instead of coffee. Water is better at quenching thirst.

His table was open, a little nook by a window.

This was his all-time favorite place in town. Either this or the little jutting rock in the park that lead into the lake. He always went there when he needed some comfort. He sighed, pleased, as he looked out the window. It was starting to rain, just enough to send little droplets trailing down the window. Lukas liked the rain, so long as he wasn't stuck in it. He opened his bag and pulled out his sketchbook. He started drawing the little birch tree outside the café.

His phone's alarm began to sound before he had even eaten his scone. He flicked his eyebrows up with a bit of disdain, gathered his things, and headed back to work. He unceremoniously shoved the scone into his mouth as he crossed the street.

Another four hours of nothing. God, he hated Tuesdays. It had picked up a little bit after lunch from people on the run and needing something to throw into a sandwich, but it was utterly dull.

Finally, it was 5. Time to go home. Lukas took off his work hat and scratched his head. He put it back on and untied his apron. He put it in his bag, and leaned against the wall, letting out all of his breath, then headed back into the store to buy some NyQuil for his brother. He grabbed a can of chicken noodle soup. He figured he'd be nice for once. As he paid, the woman at the checkout smiled at him. It was Emil's friend Michelle. She and Emil had been close forever, but Lukas didn't know her all that much except through their chats, much like this one:

"Rough day, Lukas?" He raised his eyebrows as if to say: "No kidding." "Are you sick?" The young woman asked, scanning the NyQuil.

"Nah, Emil is. He cancelled lunch today because he's got the flu." Lukas swiped his shopper's card.

"Shoot, is he okay?"

"He'll be fine, Mich. He's tough…ish." He snorted.

Michelle smiled. "Tell him I said get better, and I'm not coming over until he is. I'm not catching that noise."

"Sure thing." He grabbed his bag and walked to the bus stop.

It's still the same driver! How? Don't they switch out? He smiled politely, but was screaming internally. He walked until he saw an empty seat, and went to sit down.

Inevitably, the bus driver pulled away, knocking Lukas off balance into a seat.

Only problem, this one was already occupied.

He felt his heart stop, and he stumbled over himself as he tried his best to get up and into the empty seat across the aisle

"Shit! Sorry!" He scrambled to gather his things, when he heard the person he sat on speak.

"Oh, it happens! It's no big deal!" He chuckled.

It was the cute guy from the café.

 _Call the ambulance, boys, this one's dead._ Lukas thought. _This is the end. They're gonna have to pick up my lifeless corpse from this aisle._

Lukas's face turned about as red as a freshly boiled lobster. That's probably accurate, because they, too, die screaming. His heart was pounding so hard that he felt like everyone could hear it. He finally collected himself and gave the guy a sheepish smile, then signaled the driver that it was his stop. (It wasn't.) He got up as fast as he could and scurried out the door. He heard a shout, but it was too late for that. He was out.

Now Lukas was still about 2 miles from his and Emil's apartment, but he could breathe again. The only problem was that it was raining. Now he would probably get pneumonia and he and Emil would both be sick.

When he got home, he was absolutely drenched. He opened the door, and tossed his keys onto the table. He set down his bag and knocked on Emil's bedroom door.

"Hey, I got you some soup." Emil coughed and smiled at his brother. "Michelle says get better."

"Thanks." He sat up. "Tell her I'll try my best." He noticed Lukas looking like a drowned rat. "Whoa! You look like a drowned rat!"

"I walked home." Emil rolled his eyes and pointed at himself. "Do you want to end up like this? Because that's exactly how to do it."

Lukas put the soup into a pot and started up the stove. "I gave it to you, loser. I'm good for a while."

"Not necessarily, there's different strains, ya know. Plus, maybe it won't be the flu."

"I had my reasons." Lukas stirred the soup and blushed slightly.

"Mmhmm. What was it?" Emil asked.

"You know that café I like across the street from work?" Lukas began. "I went there and the guy behind the counter was….somethin'," Emil snorted. "So, after work, I get on the bus, and it's that one driver."

"Speed McGee?" Emil had given this driver a pet name. Lukas usually just called him "asshole".

"Yeah. So I go to sit down, and he pulls out of the stop and knocks me over. Directly onto someone's lap. And of course, it's the café guy."

Emil couldn't hold back the laughter anymore. He cackled, but the laughing made him cough more. The mixture of coughing, and laughing was a sight to behold.

"You're gonna keel over and die that way." Lukas warned, bringing him the soup. "If I don't kill you first for laughing at my misfortune." Emil thanked him for the soup. "Yeah, yeah. That's the last time I'm nice to you." Lukas joked. "If you need anything else, don't ask me." He brewed himself a cup of coffee.

He grabbed a throw blanket and his bag. He leaned back against the armrest of the couch, and sighed. The rain tapped against the window, and even though he tried to keep himself awake to read a book, he felt the low rumble of thunder lulling him to sleep.


End file.
